As I made my way up Route 23 towards Sussex County, I was glad I was driving north. Let me paint the picture: Route 23 becomes a two-lane dark country highway very quickly once you get a couple miles north of I-287. It reminds me of driving through northern Wisconsin in the middle of the night.

It's not the kind of place you expect to see a traffic jam. But there it was -- the slow parade of headlights, snaking down through the woods at 6:15 a.m.

Now I've reported in this blog already about how New Jersey's morning commute is getting earlier and earlier -- but this gave me the chance to see first-hand how this plays out in Sussex County, a place that seemingly isn't made for commuters but that has become a commuter hot-spot anyway.

The figures tell the grim tale: Sussex County commuters were always earlier risers than workers in other counties, but the gap is growing. Since 1990, the number who leave for work before 6 a.m. has grown from about 7,300 to 12,900 -- and while I don't have exact figures, I'm guessing the lion's share of the extra cars are trying to make their way on Route 23.